My reasoning is that Mapex used walnut for the majority of their top of the line drums/products. Not many other brands did this across the board with any tier of their product lines. The mapex orion series is an exception; i believe that was totally maple. I suspect they will be coveted for their walnut shells, much in the way Slingerland RK's are coveted for their 1ply shells.

Do people buy drums because of who played them? And because of what they look like? Can't see why anyone would...

Herlin Riley played mapex for a long chunk of his career, the majority of which he was with Wynton Marsalis at the JLCO. Dom famularo as well...

I'll bet a lot of drummers buy certain kits because that's what Ringo or Charlie or Bonham or Baker or Krupa or Rich or Bellson or Morello or Roach or Blakey played.

Let's see. I have a Fibes chrome over fiberglass snare, the same model Buddy Rich favored. Fibes is out of business so I believe it will only increase in value. I also have a DW 5x14 Craviotto steam bent solid maple snare drum signed by him on the inside of the shell. It was made a year or two before he left to found his own company. I'm not selling it but hope it will increase in value. I also have an amazing modern Ludwig 5x14 hammered bronze supraphonic with tube lugs which sounds incredible and is beautiful under stage lights. I think the value will increase.

consider also that some in the UK collect Premier, even someone in Eastern Europe, many in Italy collect the Meazzi Hollywood, so in 40 years some Asian could only see the Mapex, or other brands for the same reason

A saturation of modern drum manufacturers' products over the past couple of decades will probably impact the collectability of those instruments. While there was/is a very high level of quality and playability with much of these modern instruments, there really isn't a mystique behind the instruments or their manufacture either, and that's a huge draw for me with older instruments.

Example: It's understood that Ludwig was notorious for mixing hardware, badges, materials, etc. That is a huge part of the charm. There is a certain amount of wondering what could possibly have been happening on the shop floor when this particular drum was made - now THAT's cool. Modern manufacturing techniques are awesome and pretty much guarantee a level of consistency and quality, but they remove much of the uniqueness from drum to drum. That is a microcosm of the music industry right now - modernization, over-saturation, ambiguity.

As an owner, it's a bit of a thrill to be a part of the instruments' histories as well, especially when you don't know its entire story.

Well said sir.

I agree.

I love wondering WHO built/played my 1950's drums and what musical life they had before me.

Like most collectibles, its a combination of desirability and availability that drives the market. For instance drums using Jasper maple and gum shells, which to the best of my knowledge are no longer being made, may be very desirable to some. Gretsch and Fibes used them until the early 2000s.

We sold our Gretsch BroadKaster satin burnt orange 10,12,14,18 bop kit with a matching BroadKaster snare this year. This kit with gunmetal hoops, made in 2004 except for the 10" tom, is discontinued and we sold it for what we paid for it. This was in part because they were discontinued and in part because of the desirability of Jasper shells which were no longer made after around 2003. Gretsch still had a stockpile of Jasper shells and I was able to get a custom built matching 8x10 BroadKaster tom in 2005. Having a single drum custom made was expensive but we still sold this 14 year old used 5 piece set for the original new cost.

Having both 10" and 12" rack toms that can be used individually or together gave this kit a lot of flexibility. Even though it a modern kit I suspect that if the buyer takes good care of them they will not only retain their current value but will increase n value over time more than other drums that are still in production.

87

I agree with you, the little imperfections Ludwig was natorious for, especially after Ringo, makes for interesting stories, yet the drums still sound great.

Btw, I deal with a lot of young drummers around the South Texas area and the vast majority of them love vintage drums. No matter what is being made today or by who, they won't have that same mojo as kits made in the 60's, so in my opinion, they will never reach the collectability as kits from that era.

Like I said, I don't see anyone collecting drums from the 80's, why? I mean those are 20-30 year old drums. I doubt in 20-50 years there will be many looking for drums made in 2018.

However, you are looking at it from today's perspective. Fifty years from now who can say what the drummers of that period will find desirable? Who can say what will even be available? The sets we cherish from 50-70 ago will be have even less availability than today and there will be an even larger population of drummers. Maybe there will be a whole movement at some point to electronic sets and vintage acoustic sets will become museum pieces. Guessing about the future desirability and value of current products is always a slippery slope.

So how do you explain kits made in say 1985 aren't sought after? I've yet to meet a drummer who says, "I really want a kit from the 80's."